Henrythenavigator Takes His Place Among the Greats

"The best we've had" will always be a dangerous currency for Aidan O'Brien, since it could be taken as a slight on former champions who continue to make millions for the Coolmore operation at stud. So he found a more inclusive turn of phrase after Henrythenavigator had skipped away with the St James's Palace Stakes here yesterday. "He's a great horse," O'Brien said, "and I think it's very hard to say that we'll get a better miler than this lad."

This, then, is as good as a miler ever gets, in O'Brien's wide experience at any rate, though Henry the navigator is by no means finished yet. His trainer was typically opaque afterwards when asked where the colt might go next, but he has such a beguiling mixture of speed, stamina and no-nonsense attitude that, wherever it is, his price will not be far removed from yesterday's 4-7.

Held up in the early stages as Cat Junior and then Minneapolis made the running, Henry the navigator traveled like an odds-on shot until the top of the straight and the only hint of a problem came around a furlong out, when Johnny Murtagh briefly lost control of his right rein.

His partner did not miss a stride, though, and kept running straight for the line with a finishing kick that quickly took him clear of Twice Over. Raven's Pass made some ground in the closing stages, to get within three-quarters of a length at the line, but Henry the navigator had already done more than enough.

"When I changed my reins I dropped the rein on the right side, but he's such a professional, it didn't bother him. It opened up nicely for him as the lesser horses weakened and he had the class to take the gaps. He knows he's the best horse now and he trains like the best horse, too. He's exceptionally good."

The last horse to complete the treble of the English and Irish 2,000 Guineas and the St James' Palace was Rock Of Gibraltar, also trained by O'Brien, in the middle of a run that ended at seven consecutive Group One wins. If O'Brien follows a similar path, the winner will now head for the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood in August, followed by the Prix du Moulin. But there are other options, including the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes back at this course in September.

"All those sort of races are open to him, but he could go on a different route too," O'Brien said. "You could drop him back, you could leave him at a mile, or you could step him up.

"We had his dam [Sequoyah] too, she was by Sadler's Wells and she was a Moyglare winner at two, and was good enough to run in an Oaks, so all the possibilities are open. Every horse isn't the same every day, but in the vein of form that he's in at present, he's an unbelievable racehorse."

The one caveat with Henry the navigator is his strong preference for fast ground, which might tempt O'Brien to keep him going before the easier surfaces of the autumn arrive.

There must also be a chance, though, that this will steer Henry the navigator towards the Breeders' Cup Mile at Santa Anita, California, in late October, when fast ground would be all but guaranteed. Rock Of Gibraltar was an unlucky loser in the Mile back in 1992, when the race was run at Arlington. Jockey Mick Kinane gave one of his less polished performances that day and the temptation to extract a measure of compensation may be difficult to resist. "It was like winter National Hunt ground in Ireland last year, we'd never seen anything like it, and though he got beaten on it, he wasn't beaten too far," O'Brien said. "But we will be keeping him to good ground now, because we know that he's so special on it."

Yesterday's race appeared to expose Falco, more than six lengths back in fifth, as a relatively ordinary winner of the French 2,000 Guineas, while Twice Over looks like a horse for whom no trip is entirely right, as the beaten favorite in the Dante Stakes did not have the speed to threaten the principals after traveling well through the first six furlongs.

"They broke the track record, so you would have to be pleased with him," Henry Cecil, his trainer, said, "but he would prefer a bit more give and I think he's more of a mile-and-a-quarter horse than a miler."

Raven's Pass, meanwhile, proved that he stays a mile well and should have no problem finding a Group Two somewhere, but will struggle to get a Group One victory on to his record for as long as Henry the navigator is a likely opponent.

"That was a proper run and we nearly frightened the winner," John Gosden, his trainer, said. "The owners want to run in the Breeders' Cup Mile, so we will have that at the end of our program."

O'Brien's best milers

Giant's Causeway

'The Iron Horse' outfought his rivals to win five consecutive Group Ones in the summer of 2000, each of them by less than a length. Despite two top-class wins at a mile, he was probably better over 10 furlongs

Rock Of Gibraltar

After he won a record seven Group Ones in a row, Rock Of Gibraltar's run was ended by a poor ride from Mick Kinane in the Breeders' Cup

Hawk Wing

Looked brilliant in winning the 2003 Lockinge by 11 lengths but that form was questionable and it was his only success from his final five starts

George Washington

Hugely impressive when landing the Guineas but it all went wrong - he won just once more, proved infertile and was killed at the Breeders' Cup

Henry the navigator

Emulated Rock Of Gibraltar by adding yesterday's race to his two Guineas triumphs. Unbeaten this year and showing no signs of vulnerability